Outside domestic rubbish bins commonly comprise "wheelie bins" which are large (usually 240-360 litre) plastic bins fitted with a hinged lid. The bin is mounted on a pair of wheels to allow it to be transported from the house (or other building) to the kerb side for emptying. The wheelie bins are emptied by a garbage truck which is fitted with an arm or hook which lifts the bin up, inverts the bin to empty the contents and vigorously shakes the bin to ensure that all the contents are removed.
Due to the reduction in available space to dump rubbish, and the ever higher costs in doing so, many local and state authorities now require that rubbish is recycled. This requires the rubbish to be separated into similar components such as glass, plastic, metal, paper products and the like. To maximise the efficiency of recycling, there are considerable advantages in having the householder initially sort the rubbish into recyclable portions, and then to place the portions into the rubbish bin in separate compartments.
A disadvantage with this is that there are millions of bins which have not been fitted with compartments, and it is uneconomical to destroy these bins for new bins. However, dividing the bin into compartments is not a simple matter. Attempts have beer made to attach a bracket to the inside of the bin and adjacent the bottom wall. The bracket could provide a support for a dividing wall in the bin. However, gluing such bracket to the bottom of the bin has not been successful as an adhesive with at least a five year life (the average life of a bin being 7 to 9 years) has not been found. The inside of a bin very often contains moisture, greases, mould and solvents and these are found to attack the adhesive. The plastic wall of the bin is also of a type to not readily accept an adhesive. The bin must also be spotlessly clean to maximise adhesion.
Attempts have also been made to rivet or otherwise fasten a bracket to the inside of the bin. However this requires careful alignment of the bracket which is not easy task when considering the length of the bin. Also, fastening generally requires a hole to be drilled through the bin bottom and this can result in seepage or oozing of liquids from the bin.
Another consideration with attaching a dividing wall inside a bin, is that the wall must be securely mounted, and must not fall out when the bin is emptied. As bins have to sustain rough handling and vigorous shaking when being emptied, it is important that the dividing compartment is securely held in place.